No. 543 Squadron RAF

No. 543 Squadron RAF
Active 19 October 1942 – 18 October 1943
24 September 1955 – 24 May 1974
Country United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Role Photographic Reconnaissance
Part of No. 16 Group, RAF Coastal Command (42–43)[1]
No. 3 Group, RAF Bomber Command (55–68)[2]
No. 1 Group, RAF Strike Command (68–74)[3]
Motto(s) Valiant and Vigilant[4][5]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry A crane's head, the crane carrying an open padlock, with key, in its beak[4][5]
Squadron Codes No codes are known to have been carried[6][7]

No. 543 Squadron RAF was a photographic reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force, active in two periods between 1942 and 1974.

History

The squadron was formed on 19 October 1942[5] at RAF Benson as a photo-reconnaissance unit with the Supermarine Spitfire. A detachment was stationed at RAF St Eval, Cornwall to carry out reconnaissance flights over France. The rest of the squadron carried out operational training. On 18 October 1943 the squadron was disbanded.

On 24 September 1955 the squadron was reformed at RAF Gaydon to operate the Vickers Valiant for reconnaissance duties. It moved to RAF Wyton in November 1955.[8] The squadron's official war role was to carry out pre- and post-strike reconnaissance in support of the RAF's nuclear-armed V-bombers, although the post-strike bomb damage assessment mission was soon abandoned as impracticable in a nuclear war.[9][10] The squadron carried out frequent long-range survey flights, including mapping Thailand in 1959 and 1961 in Operation Segment, and surveying Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Bechuanaland (now Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana respectively) in 1964 in Operation Pontifex.[11][12] Other photo survey duties were carried out to aid relief efforts following natural disasters, with Valiants despatched to survey the damage following the 1960 Agadir earthquake and mapped British Honduras in December 1961 following the devastating Hurricane Hattie.[13] The squadron also carried out Maritime Reconnaissance over the North Atlantic, Norwegian and Barents Seas.[14] In 1964, the Valiant developed metal fatigue problems, with one of the squadron's Valiants was found to have a cracked wing spar in July 1964 during Operation Pontifex. Inspection of the squadron's aircraft in October 1964 found that only two of eight were fit for further service. The RAF's Valiant fleet, including No. 543's aircraft, were grounded on 26 January 1965.[15]

The squadron re-equipped with the Handley Page Victor in 1965, receiving its first Victor B(SR)2 on 19 May 1965 and reaching its full strength of eight aircraft by April 1966.[16] The squadron's Victors increasingly concentrated on the Maritime Radar Reconnaissance role, as photographic duties could be carried out for less money by the RAF's English Electric Canberras, and the Victors' cameras were removed in 1970. The squadron had a secondary role of air sampling This involved flying through plumes of airborne contamination and using onboard equipment to collect fallout released from French and Chinese nuclear tests for later analysis at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston.[17] The squadron also found time to enter two Victors in the May 1969 Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race.[17] It was disbanded on 24 May 1974 at RAF Wyton.[18]

Aircraft Operated

Aircraft operated by 543 Squadron, RAF[4][18][19]
FromToAircraftVersion
October 1942October 1943Supermarine SpitfireMks.IV & V
November 1942October 1943Supermarine SpitfireMk.IX
June 1943October 1943de Havilland MosquitoPR.IV
June 1955December 1964Vickers ValiantB(PR).1
February 1956December 1964Vickers ValiantB(PR)K.1
May 1965December 1965Handley Page VictorB.1
January 1966May 1974Handley Page VictorB.2(SR)

Commanding Officers

Commanding Officers of 543 Squadron, RAF[4]
FromToName
October 1942October 1942S/Ldr. A.E. Hill DSO, DFC & Bar
October 1942February 1943S/Ldr. G.E. Hughes DFC
February 1943August 1943S/Ldr. F.A. Robinson DFC
September 1943October 1943F/Lt. R.C. Cusson
September 1955August 1957W/Cdr. R.E. Havercroft AFC
August 1957September 1959W/Cdr. R. Berry DSO, OBE, DFC
September 1959January 1962W/Cdr. C.J. StD. Jeffries DFC
January 1962December 1963W/Cdr. B. Hamilton OBE, DFC, AFC
December 1963February 1966W/Cdr. A.W. Tarry
February 1966W/Cdr. R.H. McV. Redfern

Squadron Bases

Bases and airfields used by 543 Squadron, RAF[4][18][19][20]
FromToBaseRemark
19 October 194218 October 1943RAF Benson, OxfordshireDetachments at RAF St Eval, Cornwall; RAF Mount Farm, Oxfordshire; Grasnaya and Vaenga, Russia
1 July 195518 November 1955RAF Gaydon, Warwickshire
18 November 195523 March 1970RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire
23 March 19701 October 1970RAF Honington, Suffolk
1 October 197024 May 1974RAF Wyton, CambridgeshireDisbanded here

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Delve 1994, p. 64.
  2. ↑ Delve 1994, p. 88.
  3. ↑ Delve 1994, p. 90.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Rawlings 1982, p. 233.
  5. 1 2 3 Halley 1988, p. 407.
  6. ↑ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 148.
  7. ↑ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 232.
  8. ↑ Brookes 2012, p. 92.
  9. ↑ Gordon Aeroplane June 2017, p. 73.
  10. ↑ Brookes 2012, p. 67.
  11. ↑ Brookes 2012, pp. 72–73.
  12. ↑ Gordon Aeroplane June 2017, pp. 71–73.
  13. ↑ Gordon Aeroplane June 2017, pp. 70–71.
  14. ↑ Gordon Aeroplane June 2017, pp. 73–74.
  15. ↑ Brookes 2012, pp. 87–90.
  16. ↑ Brooke 2011, pp. 67–68.
  17. 1 2 Brookes 2011, p. 70.
  18. 1 2 3 Jefford 2001, p. 98.
  19. 1 2 Halley 1988, p. 408.
  20. ↑ Bases and airfields used on www.rafcommands.com

Bibliography

  • Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
  • Brookes, Andrew. Valiant Units of the Cold War (Osprey Combat Aircraft: 95). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2012. ISBN 978-1-84908753-7.
  • Brookes, Andrew. Victor Units of the Cold War (Osprey Combat Aircraft: 88). Osprey Publishing, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84908-339-3.
  • Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
  • Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
  • Gordon, Doug. "Valiant & Vigilant". Aeroplane, Volume 45, No. 6, June 2017. pp. 68–74. ISSN 0143-7240.
  • Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF (Retd.).RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
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